32-year-old Michele Westmorland, returning to college, picks right back up with softball, after some serious prep

View full sizeNICK DASCHEL/SPECIAL TO THE OREGONIANMichele Westmorland, 32 and a mother of three, has gone back to the pitcher's mound, this time for the Clark College Penguins softball team.

Of all the places to come up with a strange idea, behind home plate ranks right up there, but that's where Michele Westmorland had hers.

Westmorland was umpiring a co-ed slow-pitch softball game last summer when Randy Myers, an Evergreen graduate and former major league pitching great, walked to the plate with a bat in hand.

Westmorland, a friend of Myers', mentioned that she was back to school at Clark College.

Myers, knowing Westmorland had played fast-pitch softball in the past, told her she ought to go out for the Penguins softball team.

Westmorland told Myers that she was too old to play college softball. Myers insisted she wasn't.

So last fall, at age 32 and as the mother of three children, Westmorland walked into the office of Clark coach Kasey Powers and asked if she could try out for the team. Westmorland hadn't thrown competitively in more than 10 years. Powers had some experience with players in their mid-20s and it never worked out, as scheduling issues got in the way.

But Powers was in need of pitching help, so he told Westmorland the rules. If she could abide by them, then take a shot.

With the door open, Westmorland walked in and delivered. She has become Clark's workhorse this spring. She has thrown a team-high 89 innings, compiling a 5-8 record with a 4.56 earned run average.

"She's a positive player. She works hard, and if we could score more runs, her record would be better. She keeps us in ballgames," Powers said.

Lots of help Westmorland says her return to softball has been rewarding, but not easy for someone with many outside demands. Westmorland said she couldn't have done it without her family and friends, who often look after her children -- Shaylie, 11, Andrew, 8 and Michele, 3 -- while she plays or works out.

"To college kids, I'm old. I know this. But to go out and compete with them, it really shows that we put limits on ourselves that we never should," Westmorland said. "It showed me I'm capable of more than at times I give myself credit."

NWAACC eligibility rules are liberal. There is no time clock or age limit on completing two years of eligibility. There have been situations in which a community college athlete competed as a freshman, then returned 20 years later to play the same sport as a sophomore.

Roundabout pathThe journey back to the pitching circle didn't start with Myers' advice but in 2009, when Westmorland lost her job at Starbucks. After spending a fruitless year looking for work, Westmorland decided to enroll at Clark. In the interim, she had part-time work such as umpiring. Westmorland continues to umpire, as well as giving instruction at Extra Innings, an indoor hitting and teaching facility in Vancouver.

View full sizeNICK DASCHEL/SPECIAL TO THE OREGONIAN"To college kids, I'm old. I know this. But to go out and compete with them, it really shows that we put limits on ourselves that we never should," says Clark College pitcher Michele Westmorland.

Westmorland took part in Clark's fall softball workouts and says the game didn't quickly come back to her.

"The first game I pitched, I did horrible," she said. "I questioned, 'Do I have what it takes to get out here?'"

Powers saw the potential but also noticed that in order for Westmorland to make the roster, she had to get into shape. Westmorland was barely able to finish three innings during the fall.

"But I'm not a quitter. I'm going to keep giving this a go. If I don't play, I don't play, but I'm going to give it all I got," Westmorland said.

She spent the winter getting in shape, as well as strengthening her arm and pitching skills. By the time Clark's season arrived, she was ready to fill a role. Advice and teasing Westmorland has proven to be more than someone who can pitch every other game for the Penguins. She is an unusual college teammate, someone players can ask for advice one minute and kid the next.

"I get reminded of my age a lot. They don't hold back. It's kind of funny to them. They call me 'Nana' and think it's hilarious," Westmorland said.

Powers said it's been a positive experience for Westmorland and the team.

"She has a big-sister quality," he said. "I kind of worried about the age difference and how the kids were going to react, but they act like she's one of the team."

Westmorland's new life has helped at home, too.

"The kids love seeing me play. They think it's really cool," Westmorland said. "Their grades have got better since I went to school, too. They see Mom studying, and it makes them want to study."